Some photography trips sound good on paper. Others have a way of filling departure after departure.

Over the past three years, we've watched photographers choose the same experiences again and again; and, in many cases, fill every available spot!

So as we launch our 2028 photography trip schedule, we took a closer look at which adventures have consistently proven their popularity.

The result is this list: 11 photography trips that have repeatedly reached capacity across our 2025–2027 departures and are returning for 2028.

From chasing the Northern Lights in Alaska to photographing wild horses in the Utah desert, tracking elusive leopards in Africa and sailing through the Galápagos, these aren't simply trips to beautiful places. They're carefully designed opportunities to spend more time behind your camera, in remarkable environments, with photographers who understand what it takes to create extraordinary images!

The 2028 schedule launches today!

Here are 11 adventures worth putting on your calendar.

1. Ultimate Northern Lights

There are few photographic experiences more unpredictable; or more rewarding than watching the aurora ignite the Alaskan sky.

Our Ultimate Northern Lights workshop has been one of Backcountry Journeys' most popular photography experiences, and our numbers back that up;  this is the top departure that sells out time and time again, year after year.

The workshop is based in Fairbanks, positioned directly beneath the Auroral Oval and surrounded by the dark skies, dry climate, and long winter nights that make Interior Alaska such a compelling destination for aurora photography.

But photographing the Northern Lights isn't as simple as pointing a camera toward the sky. Aurora photography requires adapting to changing conditions, balancing exposure with movement in the sky, composing foregrounds, and knowing when to stay put and when to move. That's why the experience is built around flexibility. Each evening's shooting schedule can change based on aurora forecasts and weather conditions, giving you the best possible chance of being in the right place when the lights appear.

And when you're not photographing the aurora, you'll have opportunities to work on landscapes, low-light photography, long exposures, and other techniques, all with professional photographers there to help you refine your approach.

2028 is your chance to experience one of our most consistently popular workshops for yourself.

Explore Ultimate Northern Lights

2. Brooks Falls

Few wildlife photography experiences can match the spectacle of Alaska's brown bears gathering at Brooks Falls.

Deep within Katmai National Park, Brooks Falls offers an extraordinary opportunity to photograph coastal brown bears fishing for salmon. The area is home to one of the highest concentrations of brown bears on Earth, and during the workshop you'll spend three nights based at Brooks Falls, giving you substantial time in the field rather than simply passing through for a quick viewing.

That extended time matters for wildlife photographers. Bears aren't posing for the camera. They're fishing, swimming, playing, interacting, and moving through changing light. One moment might call for a fast shutter speed to freeze a bear launching after a salmon; the next might reward a slower approach that emphasizes movement and atmosphere.

And the bears aren't the only subjects. Moose, foxes, wolves, and Bald Eagles can also make appearances throughout the experience.

Reaching this remote wilderness by float plane or boat is part of the adventure. Once you're there, the goal is simple: spend as much quality time as possible watching, anticipating, and photographing one of North America's most spectacular wildlife scenes.

With multiple sold-out departures from 2025–2027, photographers have already demonstrated just how compelling this experience can be.

Explore Brooks Falls:

3. Patagonia: Torres del Paine & Pumas

Patagonia is a place where the landscape alone could fill an entire memory card.
But add pumas to the equation, and the experience becomes something entirely different.

This 10-day adventure combines two of the most compelling forms of photography Patagonia has to offer: landscape and wildlife.

The Paine Massif rises dramatically from the Patagonian steppe, creating opportunities to photograph towering granite peaks, glaciers, valleys, and the region's famously unpredictable light. A boat excursion to Grey Glacier adds another perspective on the landscape.

Then the focus shifts to one of Patagonia's most elusive predators.

Puma trackers lead the group through Torres del Paine in search of wild cats, using their knowledge of the animals and terrain to help photographers find and photograph them in their natural environment.

It's a rare combination: dramatic landscapes and one of South America's most iconic predators in the same photographic journey.

And photographers have responded. Several of our departures reached capacity between 2025 and 2027, and with groups limited to just eight guests, this is an adventure designed around intimate access and time in the field!

Explore Patagonia: Torres del Paine & Pumas

4. Wild Horses of Utah

There is something particularly compelling about photographing an animal that refuses to be contained.

In the remote desert plains of western Utah, free-roaming mustangs move across sagebrush, salt flats, and distant ridgelines. The result is a wildlife photography experience with an unusually strong sense of place.

Rather than photographing horses against a controlled or predictable background, you'll have opportunities to capture them as part of the landscape; galloping through open country, interacting within their bands, or standing against dramatic sunrise and sunset skies.

That combination makes this trip especially interesting for photographers who want to move beyond straightforward wildlife portraits. Composition becomes just as important as the subject itself.

The changing western light can transform the same herd from one session to the next, while expert guides help you understand herd behavior and anticipate opportunities rather than simply react to them.

Year after year, Utah’s Wild Horses has reached capacity. For 2028, the wild horses are back.

Explore Wild Horses of Utah

5. Yellowstone Wildlife Safari

Yellowstone is one of those rare places where you can arrive with one photographic goal and leave with an entirely different portfolio.

The park protects one of the largest intact ecosystems in the United States, supporting an extraordinary variety of wildlife. Bison, elk, pronghorn, grizzly bears, moose, coyotes, Bald Eagles, osprey, and countless other species can all become photographic subjects.

But Yellowstone isn't simply a wildlife checklist.
The landscape itself is part of the story. Mountain ranges, rivers, forests, geothermal features, meadows, and dramatic skies give photographers the opportunity to create environmental portraits rather than isolated animal images.

This vehicle-based safari is designed around maximizing time in the field, with professional wildlife photographers helping you make decisions about composition, light, behavior, and camera technique as opportunities develop.

If Yellowstone has been sitting on your photography bucket list, 2028 may be the year to finally put it in your viewfinder.

Explore Yellowstone Wildlife Safari

6. Kings of the Jungle: Leopards & Sloth Bears of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka offers something wildlife photographers are always looking for: remarkable animals, distinctive environments, and opportunities that feel genuinely different from the usual safari experience.

The centerpiece is the Sri Lankan leopard, a unique subspecies found nowhere else. The trip visits two prime habitats with strong leopard viewing opportunities, while also seeking out the elusive sloth bear.

But the photographic variety extends well beyond the animals themselves.

Forested lakes, rocky outcrops, lagoons, and coastal scrub create dramatically different environments for wildlife imagery. The result is a portfolio with greater visual diversity than a trip focused on a single landscape or species.

And because Sri Lanka's leopards can be active during daylight hours, photographers have meaningful opportunities to work with natural light rather than relying entirely on dawn and dusk encounters.

In 2028, you can experience this distinctive corner of the wildlife photography world for yourself.

Explore Kings of the Jungle: Sri Lanka

7. Southern Cypress Swamps: Caddo Lake

Caddo Lake is one of those places where atmosphere becomes the subject.

The Southern Cypress Swamps combine winding waterways, ancient-looking cypress trees, Spanish moss, fall foliage, mist, and reflections to create an environment that feels almost otherworldly.

A private boat provides access to the winding bayous and hidden corners of the lake, allowing photographers to explore different compositions throughout the day and work with changing light.

Wildlife is part of the experience, too. Bald Eagles, Great Blue Herons, Prothonotary Warblers, Wood Ducks, and other birds inhabit the surrounding wetlands.

For landscape photographers, the trip offers a chance to slow down and concentrate on mood, color, reflections, layers, and intimate scenes. For wildlife photographers, it adds another dimension to the experience.

Sometimes the most memorable landscape is one you didn't know existed.

Explore Southern Cypress Swamps: Caddo Lake

8. Black Leopard Photo Safari

There are leopards. And then there are black leopards.

Deep in Kenya's Laikipia Plateau, Backcountry Journeys visits a private conservancy known for exceptional leopard activity and remarkable biodiversity. The region has become particularly renowned for its melanistic black leopards, giving photographers the opportunity to pursue one of Africa's most elusive and visually striking subjects.

And the experience isn't limited to one species.
Lions, elephants, buffalo, rhinos, Grevy's zebras, reticulated giraffes, wild dogs, and other wildlife inhabit the region. Private charter flights also help reduce travel time and maximize time behind the camera.

For photographers fascinated by big cats, this is an opportunity to pursue a subject that is rare even by African safari standards!

Explore Black Leopard Photo Safari

9. Vermont Fall Colors

Not every photography adventure needs to take you across an ocean, or even across the country.

Vermont in autumn offers one of North America's most recognizable seasonal landscapes, but the real photographic appeal goes far beyond colorful trees.

Rolling mountains, quiet lakes, historic barns, farmhouses, churches, covered-country roads, and small villages provide layers of subject matter throughout the trip.

Early mornings can bring fog across tranquil lakes and maple forests. Later in the day, warm autumn light can illuminate historic farmyards and rural landscapes.

It's the kind of destination that rewards photographers who enjoy slowing down and looking for relationships between color, architecture, landscape, and light.

This trip consistently sells out quick, demonstrating that sometimes the classics remain classics for a reason.

Explore Vermont Fall Colors

10. Wild Galapagos: Luxe Photo Safari

If there is one place on Earth where the line between wildlife photography and exploration seems to disappear, it may be the Galápagos.

The islands are home to wildlife and landscapes found nowhere else on Earth, and our Wild Galapagos: Luxe Photo Safari combines that extraordinary biodiversity with the comfort of a luxury yacht.

The ship serves as your base as you explore remote islands, with flexible landings and opportunities for intimate wildlife encounters.
The experience is also particularly compelling for photographers because the subjects aren't confined to traditional safari environments.

Marine iguanas, giant tortoises, sea lions, birds, and other endemic species share the islands with stark volcanic landscapes and unusual natural formations.

That means your portfolio can move seamlessly between wildlife portraits, environmental images, landscapes, and intimate details.

For photographers who have dreamed of seeing the Galápagos through a camera, this is an opportunity to do it with a more intimate, all-inclusive approach.

Explore Wild Galapagos: Luxe Photo Safari

11. Svalbard: Ultimate Arctic Expedition

Located halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole, this Arctic Archipelago feels like another world. Mountains rise above fjords and ice flows, glaciers meet the sea, and enormous expanses of Arctic wilderness stretch toward the horizon.

And then there's the wildlife.

Svalbard is home to polar bears, while its nutrient-rich waters attract walruses, seals, whales, and enormous seabird colonies. The result is an expedition where every day can bring an entirely different photographic opportunity.

The experience takes place aboard a luxurious small expedition ship designed specifically for photographers. With only 12 passengers, two Backcountry Journeys photography guides, and two local expedition leaders, the experience offers an unusually intimate way to explore the Arctic. Zodiac excursions provide access to shorelines, glaciers, ice, and wildlife while giving photographers new perspectives on the landscape.
And unlike a traditional safari, the environment itself is constantly changing.

One day might bring a polar bear against a wall of sea ice. Another might reveal a whale surfacing beside the ship. Later, the light may turn an Arctic mountain range into a study in blue, white, and shadow.

Svalbard departures reached capacity between 2025 and 2027, for photographers looking for something truly extraordinary, this may be the ultimate Arctic adventure!

Explore Svalbard: Ultimate Arctic Expedition

Your 2028 Photography Adventure Starts Here

There's a reason these 11 trips keep finding their way onto photographers' calendars!

They offer something that a standard vacation often can't: time, access, expertise, and the opportunity to concentrate on photography rather than logistics.

Whether you're waiting beneath an Alaskan sky for the aurora to appear, watching a brown bear launch into a river at Brooks Falls, following wild horses through the Utah desert, searching Yellowstone's valleys for wildlife, or sailing between the islands of the Galápagos, the destination is only part of the experience.

The rest comes from being there with a small group of photographers, experienced guides, and enough time to actually make the photographs you've traveled so far to create.

And these aren't hypothetical favorites. Across our 2025–2027 departures, these trips repeatedly reached capacity.

Now, they're returning for 2028.

If one of them has been sitting on your photography bucket list, there's no better time to start planning!